EcoLiving Ideas

By Dede Tabak on Jun 8, 2010

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Ed Begley Jr. may have been in the film “Best in Show,” but he’s also the best in being green. Ed is a well-known environmentalist. He’s toured across the country discussing ways to reduce one’s carbon footprint. He even sells his own line of natural cleaning products that you can even drink! Now, Ed Begley Jr. and his family star in their own reality show, “Living with Ed,” on Planet Green. The show is already in its third season and focuses on Ed and his wife, Rachelle, and the struggles of being married to one of the greenest men on the planet. They still live in Ed’s green home that he purchased in the 1970’s. It’s a self-sustainable home equipped with rotating solar panels, a solar oven, rain barrels, a vegetable garden and a compost pile. His preferred mode of transportation is walking, but if he must drive, he has an electric car. Ed is completely carbon neutral. In fact, when he has to fly, he purchases a TerraPass carbon offset.

When Rachelle first mentioned the idea of a reality show to Ed, he said no, but after a while he realized that their dynamic was actually pretty entertaining. While he walks to the store, his wife drives. Ed wakes up in the morning and makes his toast with energy he creates from a stationary bicycle and Rachelle, well, doesn’t. Rachelle wants to move to a bigger home, but Ed doesn’t want to leave his perfect green house. People tune in to watch Ed and Rachelle for entertainment, (there is even a feud with his nemesis neighbor, Bill Nye, and how he’s always trying to be more green than Ed,) but they also learn how to be eco-conscious and how to take small steps in the right direction. He calls it “infotainment.” He talks a lot in the show about what he’s doing to be green, what kind of lightbulbs to use. The show is filled with lots of eco-tips and it reaches a wide audience.

As Ed Begley Jr. said, “now tens of thousands of people are trying these things — the lightbulbs and the rain barrels and the solar ovens and energy efficient thermostats. We've reached more people. We got ‘em into the tent with entertainment, and we've got ‘em leaving the tent and going and buying something that is great. It's a success — and God bless her for coming up with the idea."

Check out “Living with Ed” website for show times and check out Ed Begley Jr.’s website for more tips.